Speedway parking cheats get caught

September 14, 2003

JOLIET — Able-bodied NASCAR fans who misuse handicapped parking cards to get a spot close to the entrances of the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet are finding the cards gone and their pocketbooks lightened.

Last weekend, Joliet police and the Illinois secretary of state's office confiscated about 60 handicap parking cards and slapped $100 fines on more than 70 motorists caught feigning physical disabilities so they could get a better parking space.

The crackdown, police Cmdr. Keith Turney said, was in response to widespread abuse of such parking privileges during NASCAR races in July. The large number of offenses occurred despite free parking and warnings in the track's newsletter and fan guide, police said.